Clutter Vs Susan Matthews
Slow Corrosion EP
Earth Monkey Productions

Susan Matthews appears to be effortlessly establishing herself in the underground avant-garde music genre. This joint collaboration with Clutter sees her vocal sojourns take a lesser role amidst clouds of distortion and partial frequencies. The EP is compiled of four tracks of which, the opener, ‘Slow Corrosion’ imparts not only the EP’s aesthetic theme but also that of it’s sound framing. The use of telephone messages create a tangibility to the sense of isolation that the track instills, coupled with percussive dissonances that revolve in a core signature. Melody is manipulated and rephrased while machine-noise gently throbs and drones, punctuated by Matthews voice which is disarticulated and reminded me of a fractured Beth Gibbons of Portishead. This sets the tone for the EP sound as ‘Underwater’ introduces stratified frequency pulses that are buffeted by a deep droning patterns and low electronic reverbs. ‘Corrosive Corrosive’ and ‘Hushed Deep Dub’ syncopate through shared compositions with the latter providing some noise cut-ups and acute tones that drill down through the distortions as sounds drop in and out of the mix. The strength of the EP is that it uses the limited running time (just over twenty minutes) to the fullest capacity; establishing a fresh and engaging exchange of talent that culminates in a trippy experience formed of thoughtful layering and altered volumes that leaves the listener very satisfied.

Michael, Judas Kiss Magazine, June 2009

Clutter Vs Susan Matthews
Slow Corrosion EP
Earth Monkey Productions

Susan is a perennial favourite here at WWR (this is her third appearance in these pages this year) but Clutter on the other hand are a completely new property to these tired old ears.  The music on offer on this mini-cd is much more grounded than Matthews solo work.  The usually all pervasive ephemeral exoticism of her music has been replaced by industrial rhythms, disjointed half-melodies and static-charged noise cascades.  I like this, I don’t think I’ll play it very often, it’s just a little too mechanical for my tastes, but I’ll definitely be playing it.  I found myself missing Susan’s vocals which in itself is unusual for me as I generally am not a vocals fan but to my mind they are the heart of Susan’s music and I think it would have been interesting if Clutter had made wider use of them in his adroit re-workings. In all it’s a very interesting diversion and a bold and welcome sideways step into the unknown (presumably for both participants) which should always be applauded.

Ian Holloway, Wonderful Wooden Reasons, July 2008

Clutter Vs Susan Matthews
Slow Corrosion EP
Earth Monkey Productions

Though…(Slow Corrosion)…also belongs to the dreamlike state of abstract ambience there is also rhythmic signs on this release. The album titled Slow corrosion EP is based on compositions by Susan Matthews remixed by the artist Clutter. Opening track…Slow corrosion…belongs to the darkest territories of trip hop with dragging beats slowly moving in creepy electronic atmospheres assisted by the voice of Susan Matthews that in its style reminds a bit of Kim Gordon from the early years of Sonic Youth. From second track forward the expression moves into pure ambient territories. Creepy soundscapes built on found sounds, processed and concrete mixed up with the excellent voices of Susan Matthews. Two interesting opening releases in the Collector’s Series.

NM, Vital Weekly, Sept 2008